Natasha Killip gives us the 411 on her latest film, Paintball Massacre – a production that came with its own “she-wee.” Here’s what she had to say.
Which part of the country do you call home, Natasha?
It’s a small town in the North West of England called Barrow-in-Furness.
Have you always been based there?
No. I left there for drama school & then moved to London. If you want to be in the industry, you really need to be in the big city.
Was the goal always to attack showbiz or did you start out doing something else?
I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an actress. I got the lead part in the musical Annie at age 8, and I never wanted to be anything else.
Was this in the blood?
My family aren’t in the industry. I grew up in a working class family. My family have always worked really hard, and they were always so encouraging and supportive of me wanting to act.
What was the game plan growing up – anything you wanted to accomplish in the industry by a certain age?
There’s so much I wanted to accomplish in the industry by a young age. I was such a dreamer when I was younger and thought it would be so easy. Turns out- life isn’t like that…I never gave up though.
Tell us about the initial interest, for you, with this one?
The character initially. When I was handed the script to read for Lauren, I fell in love with her straight away. It’s always fun to play the sassy characters. It was also a bonus that it was a black comedy/horror. I love that genre.
What were you told about your character before filming began?
Lauren is a famous glamour model & it seems she was quite the popular girl in school. She’s not the nicest to people, and she doesn’t take any shit.
Could you relate to her plight?
Not really. I was a bit of an “inbetweener” in high school. And I like to believe I’m much nicer than Lauren is. I can be sassy when needed though…
How much fun was it – it looks like fun!?
The whole shoot was so much fun. Even if we were freezing cold in the middle of a quarry & using a “she-wee” to urinate, we were still laughing.
Easy to get a handle on that paintball pistol?
I’m not the most athletic or good with a paintball gun, but thankfully, neither is Lauren, so it suited the role. One time throughout filming I stepped on a yellow paintball that was on the ground and it shot up & hit me in my eye.
How closely does the finished result reflect the first draft of the script you read?
I joined the team quite late, so the script I got was the final draft. And the finished film was very close to the final draft of the script.
How would you say it evolved over the course of production?
As always with productions, the beginning is more relaxed, and then towards the end, everyone is running around like a headless chicken to try and stay on schedule!
Were you encouraged to improvise at all?
We pretty much stuck to script, but if someone ad-libbed or did something in the moment it wasn’t discouraged. It only added to the scene.
When did you first see the film?
Some of the cast & crew watched it together for the first time in a private screening in October. I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m so happy with the end result. I just hope everyone else will be too…
Any surprising fans you didn’t expect?
Not just yet… but hopefully I’ll have some adoring fans soon enough to send me chocolates & flowers in the mail…